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Overview
The names of ancient Egyptian kings such as Cheops, Akhenaten, and Ramesses II have become part of popular culture. Yet, for all the tombs and statuary that have survived over the millennia, surprisingly little remains that speaks to the workings of government, cabals in the palace, political factions, and the private lives of the royal families. In The Book of the Pharaohs, Pascal Vernus and Jean Yoyotte offer an indispensable, basic reference to the full human reality of royal Egypt.
The Book of the Pharaohs is an encyclopedia made up of short essays on the pharaohs themselves, as well as on places, dynasties, personages, subjects, and themes relating to the kings and their rule. Entries range from "Adoratrices" (priestesses of Hathor, the Egyptian Aphrodite, whose role was to arouse the erotic impulse in the creator gods) and "Amarna" (the capital created by the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten) to "Scorpion" (who ruled before the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt) and "Zero Dynasty" (the designation for pre-pharaonic Egypt). In addition, Vernus and Yoyotte include a substantial essay on the sources for Egyptian history, a bibliography of books for general readers, and a chronological table that organizes the major periods of Egyptian history and notes the most illustrious royal names from each.
Synopsis
Vernus (l'École Pratique des Hautes Études) and Yoyette (Egyptology, Collége de France) offer entries on all the known divine rulers of Egypt providing what information is known or guessed about them and their reigns. Entries also discuss places, themes, eras, dynasties, and other topics. Extensive cross-references, maps and a chronology are provided. Baltimore-based Egyptologist Lorton translated Dictionnaire de pharaons published by Éditions Noêsis in 1996. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Publishers Weekly
This compact reference work attempts to answer the questions "What if we tore off King Tut's gold mask? What lies behind the formalism, the hierarchism, and the majesty of the pharaonic monuments?" In response, Vernus, director of studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, and Yoyotte, chair of Egyptology at the College de France, present brief biographical sketches of each of the pharaohs, with highlights of their lives and reigns, such as military achievements and monuments built. There are also entries for historically relevant peoples and places, such as the Hittites, whose empire competed with that of the pharaohs, and the city of Memphis, strategically located at the juncture of Upper and Lower Egypt. Maps and a chronology of ancient Egyptian history are useful additions, but illustrations, which could have further enlivened this resource, are few and far between. (July) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
From the Publisher
"This compact reference work attempts to answer the questions 'What if we tore off King Tut's gold mask? What lies behind the formalism, the hierarchism, and the majesty of the pharaonic monuments?' In response, Vernus, director of studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, and Yoyotte, chair of Egyptology at the College de France, present brief biographical sketches of each of the pharaohs, with highlights of their lives and reigns, such as military achievements and monuments built. There are also entries for historically relevant peoples and places, such as the Hittites, whose empire competed with that of the pharaohs, and the city of Memphis, strategically located at the juncture of Upper and Lower Egypt. Maps and a chronology of ancient history are useful editions."-Publishers Weekly, June 15, 2003"Offering easy access to basic information about the pharaohs of ancient Egypt and their world, this work was originally published as Dictionnaire des pharaohs by two French scholars and translated into English by a fellow Egyptologist. . . . One of a number of ancient Near East and ancient Egyptian reference resources that have appeared in recent years, this volume is authoritative and easy to use, priced for interested readers and librarians alike. Summing up: Highly recommended. All collections.-Choice, February 2004